Looking to buy outboard for dinghy

[Hudson Force]

The 6hp Tohatsu was the last dinghy outboard that I had for my Carribe RBI before selling my boat. Over the years I had an Elgin, Seagull, Evinrude, Mercury and Yamaha. The Tohatsu was the best for me! -not the long shaft/

[GWilly]

I would just caution you to be very mindful of its weight, as you’ll need to take it off and on, move it around, take it off for servicing, etc., more than you’d think. I have a 4hp Yamaha on my dinghy, and it’s a pain for me lol.

[Mplight]

+1 on the e- propulsion- spirit 1.0 Plus
Super quiet / super light.
It’s just for the tender!

[mvweebles]

I'm going out on a limb by guessing the OP has never actually seen a long shaft outboard, certainly not one next to a short shaft typically installed on a dinghy. If he had, I think he'd understand why its gonna be a huge compromise as a daily driver for cruising.

Long shaft is, well, long. Will put a lot of stress on your dinghy transom and it's deep. Carry lots of spare shear pins.

Peter

[jim King]

I use a Tohatsu 3hp 2 stroke on same size dingy and it gets me there nearly as fast. The big benefit is that weighs less than half the 6 hp 4 stroke. Sooo much easier to put up on the transom when not in use

[Latecomer]

Thank you all so very much! Great advice!

I will go with the Tohatsu 6HP short shaft being that I will have extra hands on deck to help move around the dinghy and motor when necessary.

Cheers!

[jewt]

I have a 2007 yanmar 15hp, s storke short shaft for sale. I used it two winters in the Bahamas and few weekends here in North Carolina when going to Cape Lookout or other anchorages around New Bern. It has been serviced every Spring by the local dealer. I have only used non-ethanol gasoline since new. Located in New Bern, NC
Asking $800.00

jewt Bifrost-8
New Bern, NC

[desodave]

We have a 10ft Zodiac with a 6hp Yamaha on it. I can just get it up on a plane if I can squeeze far enough forward and have nothing else but prawn traps in it. Personally I'd go for a 9.9 - that's what I see in my future

[theBigKahuna]

Definitely agree w/ avoid the long shaft, you won't like the way it performs that deep in the water off the dinghy....

Also, you don't state where you're using it. Our 10.4' came w/ a 15hp Honda.... great motor, but too big for just tugging around a marina. We've now got a 9.9 Merc that does the job we need. When we head back into open water in a yr+ we may end up back w/ a 15hp.

[jeff356]

Would only go with a short shaft model for your dinghy as that is where it will mainly be used.

Have a 9'6" Achilles with a 6 HP 4 stroke that runs great, weighs 54 lbs but wish I had more power. If looking top keep weight down look at the 9.8 HP 4 stroke at 81 lbs, that's what I wish I had...

[Bill_Giles]

We have a 4hp four stroke short leg and it as much as we can handle on and off the dinghy. You can hip tow a largish boat with quite a small engine, just don’t expect to go fast, especially in waves. But if you have waves you have wind so you can sail.

[cottonsail]

We have a 5HP Tohatsu Propane. It is the hardest starting motor I have ever owned.

[David Mathis]

Our 10'6" inflatable has a 9.9hp short shaft. I'm happy that we didn't buy the smaller and lighter 4 or 6 hp engines that were available. The 9.9 has adequate power and even works for towing grandkids on a kneeboard. Several others posting in this forum have cautioned against using an extra long shaft outboard on this boat. I concur. One size does not fit all. Would you use your saw to drive nails? Get the right tool. Get a short shaft motor with adequate power for your little boat.

[mcon12000]

I have a 310 Zodiac with a Honda 9.9 and it will not get on plane with three adults and a dog. If you want to get from the boat to shore in various conditions “dry” planing is essential.

Without hesitation you should get at least 9.9 and probably a 15 or 20 if it’s rated for it. Do not get a long shaft just HP up the dinghy and if it’s needed lash it to the side of the main ship and away you go.

I promise you you’ll hate not being able to plane in windy chop after a nice shower for a night out.

Look around and you’ll see that no one has your proposed rig in use and there’s a great reason for that. Almost everything has been tried and what you see out in the wild is what works.

[john manning]

As other have already said, avoid long shaft outboards for dinghys.

Several replies here have said that 6HP will not let you plane a dinghy. I had the same experience using a 6HP Merc 2 stroke. After attaching a small hydroplane to the anti-cavitation plate the problem disappeared. I plane easily and use about half throttle most of the time.